The Vanquine Orphans
by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio
Summary: A Lilly & Sasha fanfiction. Focuses on the escape of the Vanquine children into Quenera, and the leader who brought them there, Edmund.
1. The Escape

**The Vanquine Orphans**  
><em>A Lilly &amp; Sasha fanfic by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio<em>

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><p><span>Chapter One: The Escape<span>

It was decided. The great sacrifice would be made. As the children flocked around Edmund Harrington, the only male above 15 who had not gone to war against the hopeless strength of the Barbarian might, he was stabbed with a silver of uncertainty. So many children, and he the sole carer? But it had to be done. There was no longer a choice. To Quenera they were therefore to go. At least they may be more assured of a welcome from their nearest neighbour, if the wizard who suddenly appeared to him privately is to be believed.

It was all he could do to hold baby James while the mothers looked for the last time at their offspring, before giving a watery half smile at Edmund and nodding towards the portal Quenera's Wizards Guild had built not too long ago. Bowing at their silent signal, he turned and ushered the nine surviving children towards the portal. Naturally, children being children, they did not understand at all. "But why, Edmund? Isn't mama coming too?" Rosa said, with a mutinous face at odds with the usual trust she displayed in him.

"Me want Mammy..." was another response from four-year-old Theresa. Edmund did not know how to answer them, despite his experience with them. Nothing could have prepared him for this day when all the parents of Vanquine would die to save their remaining offspring. Truth, that precious virtue, was now their greatest enemy in the escape. Fortunately, he was saved by little Valerie, the oldest among the children who were now his responsibility. "Mommy wants us to go with Edmund, Theresa. Isn't it going to be fun?" she said in a falsely cheerful voice. "We will even get to try out that new shiny rock and go zap into Quenera!"

"Umm... Okay, Valerie, then mommy will come join us soon, huh?" Phillip questioned, though now with less tears in his eyes at being separated for the first time in his life from his mother.

Edmund smiled sadly when Valerie looked at him. She was the only one he trusted the secret of the great sacrifice to. Having lost her mother at a younger age, Valerie became Edmund's sole responsibility when their fathers perished together at war. Instead of answering, Edmund shepherded them into the small portal room and exclaimed, "There's the magic stone now! Who wants to go first?"

At the sight of the new exotic toy, which they have previously been forbidden absolutely to use without adult supervision, most gave a clap of glee and clamoured around Edmund, heartache momentarily forgotten. However, he knew who he'd choose even before he asked the question. Quickly he organised the children into groups of three, led by some little ones who'd visited Quenera before. Then, over the hubbub, he raised his voice and called, "Valerie, why don't you take your group first and show the rest how it's done? Watch carefully, everyone."

With so many pairs of eyes watching her, Valerie gave a happy nod, pleased to be the first one chosen. Leading young Gavin and Kelly forward, she pressed the green button with a lightning bolt etched onto it, the symbol of Quenera, then quickly dragged the youngsters across the lowered stone door before vanishing into thin air.

Turning back to the six other children, most of whom now wore a look of pure awe, Edmund quickly sent the remaining groups through the portal. One by one the children started vanishing, with Edmund always reminding them to "find Valerie and stick close to her and wait for me". He safely saw them pass through the portal before looking back through the opened portal room door. Somehow, he can already make out the tide of barbarians over the top of the city gate. This was it then. The last throw of the dice.

Closing the portal room door and barricading it, he readjusted baby James in his arms, then activated the portal stone himself, stepped through the enchanted gateway, and let fate take him.

* * *

><p>As Edmund cleared the Quenera portal stone, he became suddenly aware of a shrill voice he recognised as Valerie, though he'd rarely heard her in such emotional tones.<p>

"But Edmund said you said we could come! Why are you-"

"Silence, girl! He may be Lord Harrington's boy, but he has no place here!"

"But-"

Before Valerie, flanked by nearly the entire group of orphans, could continue, Edmund quickly strode forward and interposed himself between Valerie and her foe. "Perhaps, sir, you'd rather deal with me."

The wizard looked down on him with - curiously - irritated eyes, but Edmund stood his ground. "I am Edmund Harrington of Vanquine, and I've come to seek sanctuary for myself and the children. If you would be so kind as to take us to your leader..."

The wizard snorted, rather indelicately. "Unluckily for you, I come bearing a message from my leader regarding this situation. 'The brats from Vanquine are not welcome here.' Do we make ourselves clear, Harrington?"

At those words, the children broke into furious whispers. Edmund could hear tearful snatches of "Why did he call us brats?" and "What is sank-tu-ry, Valyry?" and "I don't understand..." Reining in his own rising ill humour, he tried a conciliatory tone in his reply, "Surely, if Lord Glondorian heard me out he will-"

"No, boy. How many times must I repeat myself before the message penetrates your thick skull? You will get no help from Quenera, and if we ever catch any of you harrassing citizens here we will mete out punishment as we see fit!"

It was a futile argument, and Edmund could feel the children's heightened confusion and homesickness, after the terrible welcome they were given by their nearest neighbours. Some were even debating amongst themselves if they shouldn't just take the "shiny stone" home. Just as the wizard had had enough and teleported away after a final "Be gone, brats!" Edmund suddenly felt a cold wave of evil. Beside him, Valerie hugged his front fearfully, as she stared wide-eyed in a southeastern direction. Even Quenera paused, as if frozen with fright, for a full five minutes. Then Valerie looked up at him, "It's it, isn't it, Edmund?"

Feeling suddenly and completely helpless at facing what it truly meant to having no home, no help in sight, and a shoulderful of responsibility, Edmund tried to hold back the tears he forced himself to hide from the world. He hugged Valerie back as the rest of the children crowded around them, and told her haltingly, "Yes, Valerie. That was the end. Now we must survive by ourselves."

_- To Be Continued -_


	2. The Theft

**The Vanquine Orphans**  
><em>A Lilly &amp; Sasha fanfic by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio<em>

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><p><span>Chapter Two: The Theft<span>

It was intolerable. What gold coins they gathered from the Vanquine treasury before their flight had long since been exhausted in purchasing food. The clothes they wore were the same ones they arrived in Quenera in. And the small house they were forced to find shelter in was sufficient only due to its sprawling basement, which was so filthy and dangerous that only boys above seven with nimble fingers and a pointy implement were allowed there in the beginning to disinfect it of rodents and other small creatures before it was judged safe enough to move the youngest children in.

The orphans of Vanquine had to quickly learn to ration the little food Edmund brought back every day. They learnt that huddling together during cold rainstorms was the only way to keep warm. They learnt that, except for each other, they are now left friendless in the world. And they gradually learnt that their parents were gone forever.

Each time Edmund came back now from working odd jobs around town, Valerie watched with increasing trepidation at the amount of food he brought back. Sometimes Edmund would be lucky enough to be asked to track down a rascal of a Grammy, and that granddaughter of hers would pay much more than the others in these frequent hide-and-seek. Once, there was a week in which he helped at the local inn due to an influx of travelers come to visit Quenera on festive day. It was a happy week for the Vanquine house. But it hadn't happened since.

A few days before, Valerie had, in a fleeting moment of bravery, asked Edmund if she too, could go out and help him earn money. She would always remember how Edmund's emphatic "NO!" startled her. As the second oldest of them, she had felt a right and duty to aid Edmund in getting their daily victuals, if nothing else. Sensing her hurt and confusion, Edmund had knelt down and explained gently, "Valerie, I need you to take care of the little ones while I'm out. Who's to look after them if you go out too?"

"Peter can, Edmund. He's almost ten! And he killed more rats than anyone else when we came here, remember?"

Edmund chuckled. "I'm sure Peter is very brave, Valerie. But bravery alone cannot attend to other children's needs."

"But-"

"No, Valerie. I cannot risk any of you taking to the streets." In an aside he thought she couldn't hear, he muttered, "I'd die before I risk any of the children being assaulted by dangerous characters."

Valerie didn't really understand, and she continued to watch with alarm as Edmund became more tired and haggard with each passing day, but Edmund considered that the end of the matter for a while.

Until Valerie fell ill.

Nobody in Vanquine house knew what happened, not even Edmund. As soon as he saw Valerie's uncharacteristic lethargy and felt her burning forehead, however, he quickly quarantined Valerie away from the other children and put Peter in charge of them. Valerie tried to be brave about it, assuring Edmund that "It's probably nothing. I have the strongest constitution ever. Papa said so. I'll be fine."

But Edmund wasn't so sanguine, especially after a few days with no sign of the fever breaking. Had Valerie been as robust as before he could have accepted her assurance. However, he was now more aware than ever of the fact that, though the children took it in their stride, they were underfed, malnourished and living in unhygienic conditions. Valerie might have been the first, but if their circumstances continued as it was or even worsen, not only would Valerie die, but the others might follow suit, especially the infants and toddlers among them.

Having no choice, Edmund was forced to conclude that Valerie would need a potion, even a tiny one, and more nutritious food for her and the rest. However, he knew in his heart that it was next to impossible to procure both. Potions were expensive, and buying the potion with his meager earnings, even if he were to save enough, would take the food out of the mouths of the nine other orphans under his charge.

_But Valerie must have a potion._

Touching Valerie's hot forehead, he gently murmured, "Don't worry, Valerie. Take care. I'll be back." Valerie nodded trustingly before burrowing under the covers of what used to be a burlap sack, hardly noticing when Edmund left the house, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

><p>It was hours before Edmund came home that evening. Even in her fevered state, Valerie was surprised to find not only a small vial of the much needed potion brought out from under Edmund's cloak, but several packages of food, three times more than Edmund had ever brought home, and more than she'd seen ever since they left Vanquine. Dropping the parcels of food onto the floor, Edmund carefully lifted Valerie's head and brought the potion vial to her lips. Within minutes, she felt well and rejuvenated again.<p>

Struggling out from under her covers and standing for the first time in days, she hugged Edmund and professed her thanks emotionally, followed by an immensely curious, "However did you manage it?"

Looking away, Edmund said instead, "Now, now, Valerie. Questions later. I'm sure everyone will be thrilled to eat well today." Valerie frowned at the sidestep, but nevertheless helped Edmund gathered up the parcels and brought it down to the makeshift kitchen. Cries of happiness were heard from the Vanquine house, as its residents celebrated Valerie's recovery and Edmund's bounty. While everyone tore into their slightly larger portions ravenously, Valerie could see that Edmund was more pensive than before. He would usually try to entertain the children while they eat with stories of his "day at work", but today he was silent despite the deafening noise about him.

She got her answer later that night, when everyone was asleep. Edmund, always the last to bed, did his usual round in the bedroom. Pretending sleep when he paused at the foot of her cot, she heard him walk up to her form, felt him brush her now-cool forehead, and then, as he walked away, heard him whisper in a choked voice, "Father, forgive me for the honour I've disgraced by stealing today."

_- To Be Continued -_


	3. False Alarm

**The Vanquine Orphans**  
><em>A Lilly &amp; Sasha fanfic by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio<em>

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><p><span>Chapter Three: False Alarm<span>

Something was wrong. Edmund sensed it the moment Valerie returned from her morning's abulations. He was about to go out on his daily scavenging when he noticed her looking pale and shaken and greatly confused. Reining in the sense of foreboding, he stepped back into the house and called out to her.

She started, hesitated, and finally came towards him, but he saw that she refused to look up at him. Completely mystified, he queried, "What's wrong, Valerie?"

"Nothing..." she mumbled in reply, worrying the violet cloak he'd brought for her a few months ago, giving lie to her assurance.

Gently he touched her chin and forced her to look at him. Her lips trembled, her eyes were frightened, and - he could almost swear - was shining with tears. "Valerie, don't lie to me. Something's the matter if you're this upset. Are you ill? Hungry? What are you worried about?"

Valerie bit her lower lip, then repeated in a small voice, "Nothing's the matter, Edmund. Really."

Sighing impatiently, Edmund released her for now. "Very well. You'll tell me if there was something, won't you?"

She gulped, nodded and uttered a faint "Of course" before turning and scurrying back to the Great Hall.

He watched her go, shaking his head, and wondered whether this was what the Vanquine elders termed the "difficult period" in a child's life. A period when, so the saying goes, the child becomes recalcitrant, hard to handle, and even rebellious. But surely not Valerie. She was always so supportive and helpful, managing their little "household" while he was away during the day. It had been eight months since their escape, and after his "indiscretions", things were finally looking up for them.

So, why was she suddenly so upset this morning, and yet refused to confide in him?

The mystery of this plagued Edmund all through his prowls through Quenera streets. Twice he was almost caught due to carelessness when distracted by his thoughts while thieving from the nobles in the park. He nearly missed an opportunity to start an ego war between two wizards outside the Wizards Guild HQ. And he nearly found himself sitting on a bench trying to figure the mystery out.

That evening, when he reached home with slightly less than his usual load, he was greeted at the door, not by Valerie, but by Theresa and Rosa, who cried out in alarm the instant Edmund stepped over the threshold, "Valerie's dying, Edmund! Please help her!"

Cursing under his breath at Valerie's obstinacy this morning, he passed the packages to Phillip and Peter - who heard the girls and came running up to meet their mentor - before running down the stairs into the Great Hall. There, he saw, in the middle of the rest of the children, a distraught Valerie, who's quite clearly been crying for the better part of the day.

Suddenly, he was engulfed by the rest, all of them trying to tug at his cloak at once, and the voices jumbled up, but all only requesting one thing... that Valerie get better _immediately_. Edmund had difficulty extracting himself from the bevy before finally reaching Valerie.

"Valerie, what's wrong now? Tell me."

"I- I just- I'm-" Valerie, brave little Valerie, found that she couldn't speak from the fright of it all. While Edmund was trying to patiently coax her into speaking, a voice from the back shouted, "Valy bleeding, Edmund! She bleeding lots!"

"Bleeding! How did you...?" Thunderstruck, he immediately gave her a onceover, rolling up her sleeves and her pants to check her arms and legs, but no wound was discovered. "Valerie?"

"It... it's... not... it's... um... down... here..."

Suddenly, he understood. Vaguely. And he was so relieved that he sat down in front of the scared girl and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Oh thank goodness."

"Edmund? I- I don't- Am I going to die?"

Focusing on the quivering girl once again, he spoke to her, and to the entire room in a voice that brook absolute confidence. "No, Valerie, you're not going to die. I promise."

"B- But- it's really a lot... I thought it would stop, but it didn't... And it just kept on..."

Edmund fixed a mock-stern look on his face. "You're not going to die from this, Valerie. Trust me." Most of the children now took the proclamation for the promise that it is, and let out a sigh of relief. They went and hugged Valerie before skipping off to check out the parcels Peter and Philip, now utterly relieved, were unwrapping in the kitchen. Still keeping a eye on the half-hopeful, half-scared almost-woman in front of him, Edmund called out, "Peter, keep the young ones in the playroom. Rosa, maybe it's time you take to the stove alone for the first time."

Amid squeals of happiness and clamours for being the "cook's help", Edmund pulled Valerie onto her feet, then led her to a quiet spot away from the noise. _Guess it's time._

And now, only when the crisis was over, did he consider what he had to do. And he blushed hot crimson. What he wouldn't give for one of Vanquine's mothers to be here right now!

"Listen, Valerie... God, how do I put this? I need to tell you things about... err... well... in case the other girls experience the same in the future then you can-"

"WHAT? The same?" Valerie panicked at the thought that the other girls will soon bleed as much as she. "No, it can't-"

"Calm down, Valerie. It's... actually rather normal... and umm... I think it will happen every month..." _Oh boy, this is going to get awkward..._

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><p>When Edmund and Valerie finally had things straightened out between them (amid many blushes, halting explanations and jumping-to-conclusions), dinner was ready, albeit almost being burnt. Taking his usual place, Edmund watched as the girls flocked around Valerie and exchanged whispers like fury, probably asking her about her "condition". The boys took the cue and congregated amongst themselves, engaging in loud, boisterous dinner talk.<p>

Edmund had to smile and shrug faintly each time a question from the girls made Valerie blush and glance at him for help. He only knew so much, when his father had taken him aside at the age of eleven and explained the "basic facts of life" to him. Of course, it had been heavily biased towards the male angle, so there was only _some_ mention of what the ladies go through. He made a mental note to fix a date in order to rearrange the sleeping arrangements of the children. Separate bedrooms were needed now, that's for sure.

As he helped himself to more bread, musing over the plan, Edmund thought, _"Well, thank goodness I won't have to go through 'The Talk' four more times."_

_- To Be Continued -  
><em>


	4. The Guild Creation

**The Vanquine Orphans**  
><em>A Lilly &amp; Sasha fanfic by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio<em>

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><p><span>Chapter Four: The Guild Creation<span>

"Edmund?"

The sound of his name disturbed the peace of the upper floor. He turned back to see Valerie emerge from the stairs. Giving a small smile and returning the greeting, he was surprised when she sat next to his spot, where he was gazing out the front windows into their forlorn neighbourhood.

They'd been a year at the poor section of Quenera, and the wizards were either unaware of, or chose to ignore their existence. It helped that their house was abandoned when they moved into it, and since it was in the poor section, no one who was anyone strolled by that area. Edmund had also taken great care to be inconspicuous in his thieving; nothing had ever been traced back to him.

Valerie was silent for a moment. Then she spoke up, "Take me with you tomorrow, Edmund."

He frowned at the insistence in her voice. "Where to, Valerie?"

"To get our food, of course." Was the matter-of-fact answer. Edmund didn't really like where the conversation was going.

"Valerie, it's late. You should be in bed-"

"I need to help, Edmund. I- I know you don't want us to end up the same way, but it's the only choice, isn't it?"

Thunderstruck, Edmund looked at her. Valerie's eyes glittered with determination and pleading. Surely not. Surely she couldn't... _know._

Swallowing hard but determining not to falter like the last time, she plod on, "I- I know you've been stealing, Edmund. I'm not stupid. I used to hear you praying for forgiveness every night during the first month. But you _saved_ us, Edmund. We - _I_ - would have died if it were not for you. And I know I can learn. I promise I will do exactly as you say, Edmund. I just need to- I can't- can't stay here forever. I-" Valerie bit her lower lip, then confessed her greatest fear, "What if you don't come back, like Papa?"

"Oh, Valerie..." Edmund's voice was weary as he looked away while answering her. "I will always come back. But how can I teach you to be thieves when I hate myself for it every day? When I think of how disappointed my father probably is at his only son stealing for a living... To compound that evil by betraying the trust of every Vanquine parent who entrusted their children to me..."

Leaning forward, Valerie replied earnestly, "But that wasn't your fault, Edmund! We thought Quenera would help us. But they didn't. And we need to eat. We're just children." Bitterly, she continued in a voice uncharacteristically filled with hatred, "They _deserve_ it."

"Valerie!"

"Well they do!" The words were now tumbling over each other as Valerie struggled to speak with the dark emotions roiling inside her. "They said they'd help! You said so yourself, and you don't lie, Edmund. How can they just say we can't come after they said such a thing? Why didn't they help save Vanquine if they're so powerful? It's not fair!"

Edmund had to hush Valerie before her voice awakened the rest. Blushing at her outburst, she quietened down for a moment, then looking at Edmund again, just said, "Please?"

He sighed heavily at the dilemma before him. It went against his every moral belief to expose the children to his lifestyle. And yet...

What else could they do? He was just the apprentice of a blacksmith - Valerie's father - in the last known smithy this side of the Quenera bridge, since neither Rivermore nor Quenera had blacksmiths (let alone Python Village). The other children were at an age where they play, not learn trade skills, when the war happened. What could he possibly teach them so they can survive when they grow up? It's not as if there was a school he could enrol them in eventually... All the youngsters could do was learn their letters from the elders.

_What would Igor say if he was here? To see the depths we've had to sink?_

Edmund hadn't even realised that he'd spoken aloud until he felt Valerie's hand on his shoulder. "Papa would understand, Edmund. I'm sure of it."

"But he won't be proud of it. Vanquine was a proud and historical city, and in one day, it was gone." More silence, as they both mourned the lost of their heritage. Then Edmund said, "Get some sleep, Valerie. I will think on it."

She nodded, then tentatively asked, "And tomorrow?"

"No. If I decide to take you out - _if_, mind you - I'll have to train you here beforehand. No sense throwing you into the deep end of the lake if you aren't prepared. Now to bed, Valerie."

Reluctantly she rose and headed back downstairs with a "Goodnight, Edmund", knowing that pressing further won't gain her any ground. Edmund watched her go, but he did not follow for a long time. Lying down on the floor with the window view still in sight, he closed his eyes.

_Valerie_... Every day he returned, she was always at the door, pleased that he's back, eager to hear his adventures, and - Lord help him - that was probably the highlight of her every day. Except for himself, all the children were shut in, to help keep Quenera's wizards from realising that the orphans did not just wandered off and died in Haven Hills or even Brackenfell. Except for keeping each other alive, they had no reason to look forward to tomorrow.

Maybe he didn't have to do everything alone anymore. Valerie would be happy to learn to assist him, as she'd wanted to.

_A guild of thieves._ Edmund mulled over the idea. While torn about subjecting his charges to the same life he was forced into for their sakes, it could give them purpose when they grew up. And to counter the wizards' guild who shunned and disregarded them when they'd first arrived... _Perhaps this is our only way forward. But no disgrace shall be allowed to fall on Vanquine._

_Vanquine is now in the past. As is Edmund Harrington. Henceforth, I shall only be known as... Fox._

_- Finis -_


End file.
